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Fishing Conditions
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Water flow: 746cfs which is an excellent flow for the fall!!
Visibility: 48 inches
Water temperature at mid-day: 42 Degrees F
Water condition: Clear
Best time of day to fish: ALL DAY LONG!
Best stretch: The whole river is fishing well. Lots of fish are still midging all day in the slower water. Fish are also looking for baetis in the faster water up and down the river.
Best access point: Texas Hole
Fly fishing hatches in order of importance:
Fish are eating midges great all day long!!! Fish above Texas hole with dark grey, cream and olive midges size 24 and 26. Have lots of variations on your midges as fish will get wise to your patterns. Midges, midges, midges!!!
THE BLUE WINGED OLIVES ARE BACK!!!! from noon to about 5:00pm. Grey, olive and chocolate have all been catching fish!
Streamer fishing has been good at night or first thing in the morning! You will find brown trout are getting aggressive before the spawn and are more than willing to eat a streamer!
with the increase in water flow the fish are eating moss trying to get the bugs living in their. Try different color dark bunny leeches as an attractor, you will get some fish to eat it. Brown and gold variant have been best for me.
“Must-have” fly fishing patterns in descending order of importance:
| Fly Name: |
Fly Color: |
Fly Size(s): |
| Midge Selection |
Grey, olive, cream, |
22, 24, 26 |
| Midge |
cream, brown |
22 to 26 |
| M And M Midge Pupa |
Grey, olive, cream |
22 to 26 |
| Wd-40 |
Grey or olive |
20 to 24 |
| Red Hot Nymph |
Red? |
20 to 24 |
| Cdc Mayfly Emerger |
grey, olive or brown |
22 and 24 |
| Bunny leeches |
brown, green, natura |
4, 6 |
| Midges all day! |
Grey, olive and crea |
22,24,26 |
| cartoon hopper |
Yellow, olive, cream |
6 and 8 |
| Streamers |
brown, olive, black |
4, 6 |
Orvis-Endorsed guides nearby: Fisheads of the San Juan
Fish species: Rainbow and Brown trout
Fishing season: Year Round (Prime: March – November)
Nearest airport: Albuquerque, NM (2.5 hr) or Durango, La Plata Airport, CO (40 min) or Farmington, NM (40 min)
Recommended fly fishing leader: 9 Foot Leader
Recommended fly fishing tippet: 6X Tippet Size
Best fly fishing rod: 10′ 5 Weight Fly Rod
Best floating fly line: Trout WF
Real-time water flow data from USGS:
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| The best fishing right now will be with midges, have lots of different patterns and colors. You will catch fish on both larvae and pupa size 22 to 26. You will find lots of fish in shallow water, use a small indicator a foot or two above a #8 or #9 weight. I find this kind of sight nymphing as much fun as dry fly fishing. Get to a good riffle or tail out after lunch and look for fish eating baetis. The mayflies are small in the fall, I have been using size 22 and 24 grey, olive and chocolate nymphs. Try stripping streamers in moving deep water. You will find that there are aggressive brown trout staging there before the spawn Fish are eating moss, looking for the insects hiding inside. Try different color bunny leaches (olive, brown, natural) as your top fly. Twitch them once in a while. They have been working well early in the morning! |
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Best Fly Fishing Techniques & Tips
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| The fish are eating well in the morning from sun up to about 11:00am on the midge hatch. They will get tricky to catch as the sun gets higher in the sky, they can see our line and hooks better. The fish are concentrating in shallow water over weed beds where the bugs are hatching. The trick is to find the correct color midge. Some days it has been olive and the next cream the only thing consistent is the size, 24 and 26. I know and I’m sorry but it is what it is, use 6X fluorocarbon as well. This hatch is going on all day but has been most productive from sun up to about 11:00am and then in the evening when the sun gets off the water. The BWO hatch is getting stronger every day! Baetis live in fast water so look for them in the riffles at the top of holes and at the bottom of holes in the tail out. Fish are eating grey, olive and brown nymphs in these places, again it just depends on the day so have them all. You may have the chance to see fish on top during this time as well. A parachute adams or comparadun should do the job. After a month of eating mostly midges the fish will start eating these mayflies with reckless abandon, don’t miss out! The increase in water flow this week has broken lots of moss loose and fish are eating it. I know this sounds strange but our fish will tear at chunks of moss to get food hiding inside. Fishing bunny leeches on a dead drift will get some fish interested. Give it a try. I usually fish a large red or orange larvae (# 18) below the leech to get the fish that are just looking at the moss. |
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7-Day Fly Fishing Forecast
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| The mornings are cold and crisp, the cottonwood trees are turning a bright gold and fishing is awesome! Fall is one of the best times of the year to catch big fish moving around. Things are busy here on the Juan but there is always someplace to find your own fish and space. We have a long fall this far south, it doesn’t get really cold until the end of November or the beginning of December. I hope you all get to the river and enjoy this time of year as much as I do. Good luck to all the Fisheads out there, Chris |
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